Process of making lenses.



No. 673,847. Patentedlay 7, |9o|. A. filIcKL.

PROCESS OF MAKING LENSES.

(Application filed June 8, 1900.)

(No Model.)

UNiTnp STATES PATENT rrrcn.

ANTONIN RITCKL, OF NOVE MITROVIGE, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

PROCESS OF MAKING LENSES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 673,847, dated May '7,1901. Application filed June 8,1900. Serial No. 19,568. (No model.)

To to whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ANTONIN RiioKL, manufacturer, a subject of theEmperor of Austria-Hungary, residing at Nov Mitrovice, Bohemia,Austria-Hungary, have invented a new and useful Improvement in PressingLenses, Glass for Lanterns, Mirrors, and the Like; and I hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use-the same.

I make my molds from aluminium alloys or other non-oxidizable materials.

The construction of the press or'machine by which I carry out my processand for which it is specially adapted is as follows:

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation; Fig. 2, a detailplan view of the cross-head 12, the upper die, and knife, withattachments; and Fig. 3, a side view of the same, showing the cross-head12 in section.

1 designates a base or standard having at its center a smaller support3, to the top of which is attached the lower die or half of the mold 2.From the ends of said base 1 rigid parallel uprights or standards 7 8(one at each end) rise vertically. Three parallel horizontal cross-heads11, 5, and 12 are adapted to slide vertically on said standards, whichpass through them and act as guides. The crosshead 11 is the uppermost,5 the middle, and 12 the lowermost. To theends of the uppermostcross-head 11 are attached handles 23 and 24: or equivalent means forraising and lowering it. The said cross-head is connected to the othersby two vertical parallel bars or guide-rods 13 and 14, which aresecurely attached to cross-heads ll and 12 and pass loosely throughguide-holes in crosshead 5. Between cross-heads 5 and 12 the said bars13 and let are provided with two pairs of collars l5 and 16, 17 and 18,which serve to maintain a certain fixed distance between cross-heads 5and 12, the holes in crosshead 5 being too small to permit the passageof the uppermost pair of collars 15 and 16. Between cross heads 5 and 11two spiral springs 19 and 20 surround the bars 13 and 14. At the middleof cross-head 5 is rigidly attached a depending bar or mold-support 6,in the lower end of which is inserted securely the upper die or half ofthe mold 4, similar to and registering with the lower half 2. This die 4has a collar 10 surrounding it at its upper end, and below this aring-knife 9 surrounds it and is vertically movable thereon. The cuttingedge of said knife passes close to the lower edge or ridge of die 4twhen in use. The cross-head 12 is made circular in shape, with acircular central aperture through which the die-support 6 and die 5pass. Two lugs 26 and 27 depend from diametrically opposite sides of thelower surface of said crosshead 12, and two horizontal arms 28 and 29pass through them, respectively, and are provided with slots in theirinner ends which engage a collar 30, formed on the exterior periphery ofthe ring-knife 9. These arms are adjustable in said lugs.

The operation is as follows: The amorphous lump of semimolten glass isplaced upon the lower die 2, and by means of handles 23 and 24.- thecross-head 11 is forced down, bringing with it the two lower cross-headsand die 4. When die 4 reaches the lump of glass, it compresses it intothe desired shape and squeezes the surplus out between the edges of dies2 and 4, so as to form a surrounding bead. The downward pressurecontinuing, the springs 19 and 20 are compressed, and consequently whilecross-head 5 remains stationary crossheads 11 and 12 still descend,carrying the ring-knife with them, which thus cleanly cuts off the saidsqueezed-out bead of surplus glass. The position of the upper die justbefore the knife is operated is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Whenthe pressure is released, the springs 19 and 20 cause the ringknife toreturn to its normal position, and the upper die is then lifted from theglass, which will be found to be pressed into a perfectlens.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The process of making lenses and the like, consisting first incompressing the amorphous glass into the desired shape so that thesuperfluous glass shall be squeezed out at the edges, and secondlycutting off said superfluous and expressed glass by'a continued exertionof the same force operating independently of the compressing actionsubstantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

ANTONIN RU'CKL.

Witnesses:

ADOLPH FISCHER, L. VoJAREL.

